WHEN GOD GAVE ISRAELITES THE TORAH JEWISH HOLIDAY SHAVUOT MARKED WITH STUDY, CELEBRATES LEARNING.

Byline: HOLLY J. ANDRES

Staff Writer

WOODLAND HILLS -- Revelations and eyebrow-raising stories from the Torah will be featured Tuesday during a Shavuot study session at Temple Aliyah.

The five-hour session -- dubbed "Bible Stories My Rabbi Never Taught Me (and My Mother Doesn't Want Me to Know)" -- will feature six rabbis presented by Temple Aliyah, Congregation Shir Ami and Temple Kol Tikvah.

Shavuot, which is Hebrew for "weeks," is the Jewish celebration of God's giving of the Torah -- including the Ten Commandments -- at Mount Sinai.

Verses in Exodus 19 tell of thunder, lightning, resounding horn blasts, a cloud of smoke and the trembling of the Israelites as God spoke.

But the two-day festival marking the event is most associated with eating dairy delicacies including kugels, blintzes and cheesecake; it doesn't command the same high-profile fanfare of Passover or the High Holy Days.

"Shavuot is the most overlooked Jewish holiday. And it's huge!" exclaimed Rabbi Stewart Vogel from Temple Aliyah. "In truth, it should be the most compelling Jewish holiday.

"God, Torah and the Jewish people -- that's the essence of Judaism, and on Shavuot those three come together."

Unlike Passover's ritual-laden Seder, Vogel said, Shavuot doesn't have a significant home ritual.

"It's also not like the synagogue holidays of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur that speak to the individual about change and self-reflection," said Vogel. "Shavuot is the Jewish communal experience -- a powerful moment as a people.

"Shavuot is the process by which we relive and experience that moment of receiving Torah, and it should be a fresh and compelling relationship."

But Shavuot does have a tradition underlain with mysticism. Tikkun Leyl Shavuot -- "repairing the night" -- is a communal study that in some congregations is held literally all night until dawn.

The concept is designed to re-create the excitement and edginess Israelites might have felt as they stayed up all night in anticipation of hearing God.

At Tuesday's event, Rabbi Jennifer Flam from Temple Aliyah will discuss "Song of Songs: Holy or Blasphemous?"

While the "Song of Songs" is controversial, Flam said it appears to be a love poem.

"We will uncover the holiness and look at the nuances. We will understand that it is a love story between God and Israel," she said.

The one-hour session will present Rabbinic thought and contemporary understandings of the poem, as well as a look at modern Israeli poems.

"We study all night (on Shavuot) to merit to receive the Torah," Flam said. "I would like (the study session participants) to increase their relationship to the tradition and feel that they are part of a larger community. I'm hoping that they will feel a real closeness to Torah and be engaged by its teachings in a new way."

On Shavuot, observant Jews will refrain from work and Jewish day schools are closed. It also is customary on the first day to read the Ten Commandments during morning services, as well as the Book of Ruth.

Vogel said Shavuot is a reminder that learning should be a lifelong pursuit.

"Torah literally means teaching. The important role of study, learning and applying those in our life becomes the message of Shavuot. For me, I like that," he said. "We're showing that we're not afraid of these stories (at the study session).

"People don't really know these stories. We're going to tackle the most controversial to help to understand them. If the Torah is the most sacred work, why did God put these stories in? We're going to find out what should Torah mean in our lives."

Tikkun Leyl Shavuot, 7:30 p.m. Tuesday to 12:15 a.m. Wednesday, Temple Aliyah, 6025 Valley Circle Blvd., Woodland Hills. Minyan, 7:30-7:45 p.m. Reservations requested. Call [phone].

"What Did She Really Uncover? A Closer Look at Ruth and Boaz on the Threshing Room Floor," led by Rabbi Janet Offel and "David, King of Israel?" led by Rabbi Adam Schaffer, from 7:50-8:50 p.m.; "What's Up With Lot? The Troubled Stories of a Father and His Daughters," led by Rabbi Stewart Vogel and "What's Really Behind the Veil? Exploring the Tale of Tamar and Yehudah," led by Rabbinic Intern Gary Oren, from 8:55-9:55 p.m.; "Song of Songs: Holy or Blasphemous?" led by Rabbi Jennifer Flam and "The Rebellious Son: What to Do When We Feel Like Killing Our Children," led by Rabbi David Vorspan, from 10-11 p.m. "Censoring the Torah and Haftarah: What Were the Rabbis Thinking?" led by scholar Joel Gereboff, from 11:15 p.m.-12:15 a.m.

holly.andres(at)dailynews.com

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Photo:

Hazzan Mike Stein and Rabbi Jennifer Flam conduct a mock wedding with pre-K students at Temple Aliyah in Woodland Hills.

Andy Holzman/Staff Photographer